"I'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came over here to Manila,Philippines for a short vacation. unfortunately,we were mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed,all cash and credit card were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us. We've been to the Embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and our flight leaves in few hours from now but we're having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills. Well I really need your financial assistance..Please, Let me know if you can help us out? Am freaked out at the moment."

My reply...

" 'Leslie'

How fortunate that despite the fact that you haven't paid your bill, the hotel let you continue using their internet to email hundreds of people for money...

And even more astonishing that you managed to conjure up hundreds of strangers email addresses to contact (instead of any friends or family?!) even in this truelly distressing situation.

While i was desperately scrambling to get my credit card so i could send you thousands of pounds to rescue you - i had a thought - with your powers of persuasion and this new physchic ability you've unearthed, why don't you negotiate to borrow a few pounds to put the lottory on and win the money you need??

Be sure to let me know when you've won if you need more funds to release your winnings...

Good luck, god bless"

I'll let you know how 'Leslie' and his family get on...

Logged

“For too long, we've assumed that there is a single template for human nature, which is why we diagnose most deviations as disorders. But the reality is that there are many different kinds of minds. And that's a very good thing.” - Jonah Lehrer

I do now if he stayed in Australia he wouldn't have had such medical bills.

Isn't that a bit victim blaming?

'That man wouldn't have been hit by a car if he had just stayed home?''That woman wouldn't have had a race crime committed against her if she just stayed in her own country'

I think you are being unfair, and I don't think he is scamming but I do agree with Virg that he needs a good lawyer.

think what's being said is that "had he incurred such an accident in Australia, he would not have had such bills because the national health system would have covered part or all it." or "because health care costs are much cheaper in Australia."

he probably does need a good lawyer. I wonder if there was dangerous activity clause in his insurance

I am guessing there is more to this story than is being told, probably something like he was considered at fault for the accident or his travel insurance doesn't cover skateboarding.

My insurance doesn't cover injuries sustained while participating in extreme sports, or professional sports. Possibly the skateboarding qualified as one of those? I'd think just boarding down a street in NYC would qualify as extreme..

There is, of course, more to the story than is in that article. Like, her first daughter (now age 11) had leukemia, so everyone felt very sad that her second child now had it. (From what I've heard, DCFS are now investigating to make sure the older daughter did have leukemia, that hers wasn't faked as well.)

Also, the younger child, age 4, was firmly of the belief she had leukemia; she cried when she was told she was healthy. Her hair had been thinning, they are looking into whether this sorry excuse for a mother was giving her child medicine to fake the cancer, or thinning it with a tiny clipper, or what. There were pictures everywhere of the child in what looks like a hospital room, wearing the smock, sitting on a hospital bed. I hope that little girl grows up psychologically healthy...being told you are possibly dying at a young age cannot be healthy.

The community has boycotted the trendy clothing store this woman owns. Perhaps this should be in the PD thread as well.

ETA: Here's the local news article that talks about her older daughter.

UPDATEAbby was scheduled to be in court this morning for an initial appearance, but she wasn't there. Her attorney was, who said that she has moved to Texas. The initial appearance has been rescheduled to Oct. 16.

That is all that was reported. No word on whether this counted as skipping bail, I'm guessing not since that would have made the story for sensationalism.

How can someone just "decide" to move when they're expected in court? I expected the next line of the story to be "She was tracked down and arrested."

Maybe I've just watched too many cop shows but usually "don't leave town" is one of the first things they tell someone...

I read a book by Ann Rule, "Everything She Ever Wanted" about a woman who probably had a gumbo of personality disorders, marked by faked illnesses, faked assaults on her, faked attempts on her life, plus a string of pretty astonishing criminal behavior. When she was in her 40s-50s, she was investigated for her latest round of criminal activity and was questioned about her as-yet-to-be-proven part in poisoning/over-medicating an older couple that she was supposed to be caring for and she was all astonishment that the authorities thought to ask her about it, "Well, that was YEARS ago," she said, as if time had somehow undone the damage she did. She had forgotten about the crime, wiped the slate clean, and walked away and seriously didn't understand why everybody else hadn't done the same.

That's right, the guy would have gotten a better deal with our health system. I'm surprised he hasn't been paid anything by the cab company.

Ok, there's something about this woman that annoys me. I think she's scamming refunds by using them for not what they're intended. Refunds happen if the product is faulty, doesn't fit or do what its meant to do.

My guess is that if the cab really hit an innocent pedestrian, the cab company would have paid up immediately or his insurance company would have paid and gone after the cab company themselves. I have a feeling that there's more to this story. Either he walked or rolled on his skateboard out directly in front of the cab (or even into it) and therefore was considered at least 50% liable for his accident. Or something like that.

It's not always as easy as filling out a form to file for damages from an insurance company. The insurance company is going to do every thing they can to keep from paying out any damages. Even if the cab was 100% liable for the accident, the person who was hurt still has to hire lawyers to actually file the paperwork to sue the insurance company for damages. So someone from another country may not know how the process works or how to go about starting the process. The insurance company can keep him running in circles chasing paperwork.

Ok, there's something about this woman that annoys me. I think she's scamming refunds by using them for not what they're intended. Refunds happen if the product is faulty, doesn't fit or do what its meant to do.

I wouldn't call that scamming, as she says "I've never given the clothes an outing and then returned them - as I see it, that's not playing the game." and "Besides which, I do actually keep the occasional item and everything returned is in immaculate condition.".

And I'm pretty sure the UK as the same law as France, shops have to offer refunds (or store credit) on the only basis of "buyer's remorse". Not used and tags on, you can return it if you just changed your mind about it. Sometimes stores have different time schedules, 15 days for buyer's remorse, 30 days for defective stuff not under guaranty. But mostly it will be 3O days for any reason (not used/tags) and/or replacement if faulty.

She's not gaining any money or stuff in it, mostly just loosing time, and she gets to try stuff at home at ease and not feel rushed in a shop.So yeah, ok, she does that every week, but not even in the same shop.I'm more sorry for her, having this type of compulsion/addiction is probably not easy every day, at least this one is mostly harmless (if I try really hard, the only thing I can come up with is that her bank statement must be twice the normal size and printed on more paper...)

I'm afraid one of my kids is a little scammer in the making. I hope I was able to show her it never really works!

BG: We were at Target one day and I got the kids their school backpacks. As we were leaving, the security gates went off. No one ever came over to investigate but I made sure the kids didn't accidentally have anything in their hands or pockets (they didn't.) Of course, I had the receipt for everything in our bag, so we went on our merry way. At home, I discovered one of those square security label things and I figure it was either supposed to be removed or disabled in some way and wasn't. The kids were very concerned about the whole "gates going off" thing but I told that sometimes they do and as long as you aren't actually stealing anything, it's not a big deal because you'll have a receipt showing proof of payment.

So in the car the other day, DD8 (who has obviously been mulling this over) said, "Mom, I know how you can get past the gates!"

Me: Oh? How?

DD8: Well, you just buy something. Then you go back later and steal the same thing but bring your receipt. Then when the gates go off, you just say, "Oh, it's okay, I have a receipt right here!" and then you have two things!

Me: Well, that sounds like it would work but every receipt has the date and time stamped on it. The security guard would know you're lying.

DD8: Oh. I guess I didn't think of that.

Me: Well, please remember that stealing is ALWAYS wrong* and you will eventually get caught and it's really not ever worth it. Dad and I will be extremely disappointed if we ever find out you're doing something like that. (then I went into how it seems harmless but it really hurts everyone, yadda yadda yadda...)

She's a really good kid and I doubt she ever would steal anything. She likes a good puzzle and went about solving the problem of security gates. But her logic scared me a little, LOL.

*I know there are circumstances where this could be debated but I didn't need to get into semantics with an 8-year old with a plan to successfully boost merchandise...

I [size=78%]Hope this makes you feel better. I was like your daughter. I loved puzzles, which led me to love mystery stories, which led me to figure out various scams and how to do them. My friends' parents often told my parents it was a good thing I had them for parents, because they had made sure I knew that honesty was important. I regularly pointed out how X security feature was useless because all you had to do was x, y, and z to defeat it. I picked at least 2 locks when friends' younger siblings had locked them selves in rooms during temper tantrums. [/size][/size]I have never committed a crime. (Did once go get the manager, when the clerk was being short changed - the manager was amazed I figured it out. )[size=78%]

And I'm pretty sure the UK as the same law as France, shops have to offer refunds (or store credit) on the only basis of "buyer's remorse". Not used and tags on, you can return it if you just changed your mind about it.

No, not in the UK. If you buy something in a shop, you only have the right to return goods if they are faulty. The store may operate a goodwill policy, but it does not have to accept returns because you changed your mind. (Different rules apply if you bought things from a catalogue or over the internet, under the Distance Selling Regulations.)

And I'm pretty sure the UK as the same law as France, shops have to offer refunds (or store credit) on the only basis of "buyer's remorse". Not used and tags on, you can return it if you just changed your mind about it.

No, not in the UK. If you buy something in a shop, you only have the right to return goods if they are faulty. The store may operate a goodwill policy, but it does not have to accept returns because you changed your mind. (Different rules apply if you bought things from a catalogue or over the internet, under the Distance Selling Regulations.)

Oh, ok, then I take back what I said.I didn't really check for sources, come to think of it there's probably some caveat that doesn't cover every purchases of everything, but the "buyer's remorse" does exist (called right of retractation) in most cases. I still don't think it's 'scamming' if she stays inside the shops policies, doesn't seem like she throws fits (and she accept defeat when her own mistake).

At the pharmacy checkout today, guy is giving the clerk a very hard time as he attempts to open the packaging on some kind of medical devices (I think syringes, but I'm honestly not sure -- there was a sealed plastic bag around multiple items of some kind) he hasn't yet paid for. She tells him she can't restock it if he opens it and doesn't end up paying for it, and to please give it back until such a time as he has decided to actually buy the items. She's practically yelling at him to hand it back, and he eventually does.

She steps away, and he starts harassing me to "Just show her your ID! I need you to show her your ID!""I will not do that," I respond, not knowing why she'd need an ID or what kind of liability I'd be under if I did that for someone else's controlled substances/materials."But I'm illegally parked and I need to get out of here right now!" (Let the record show that he was red eyed and frantic, and most certainly not in condition to drive.)"I'm not going to show someone my ID so you can buy something.""Just do it, please! I'm gonna get a parking ticket if you don't." I turn to the second clerk and ask about my prescription. He's trying to communicate with me about personal details of my medication. He asks the red-eyed man to, "Please step back for confidentiality reasons."Red Eyes is no longer panting directly on me, but he is still whining about his car, and why won't I just show my ID for him? I scoot closer to the kiosk and swipe my card, using a hand to shield the keypad as I enter my PIN. "Please, back off." He doesn't move. "All you'd have to do is be over 21! Just, please! Please!" I say nothing, and rush over to my husband, who's in the waiting area. "We have to get out of here NOW," I tell him. "I do not want to say why, just come on!" He's dawdling, looking at a magazine, but when I pull his arm a little, he knows to get on with it.

We're waiting for the train at a stop opposite the pharmacy. I see the guy walk outside after we're seated, and pull my hood up so he won't recognize me. He's on his phone, texting and walking, eventually approaching a Coca-Cola delivery person before turning around and walking past the pharmacy again, approaching a couple of people in the process.

He eventually stalks off, past the pharmacy (though I know there's another one about 4 blocks down, so perhaps that's where he was headed to try his luck). Guess he wasn't too worried about parking tickets after all!

(I really wish I knew what he was trying to get me to get for him. All my "this guy has a drug problem!" alarm bells were going off, but I can't be sure there wasn't a logical explanation.)

I think some jurisdictions still restrict sales of syringes, on the theory that doing so may stop some people from using illegal drugs.

This was a lot more common before the AIDS epidemic. Now, many places are working on the theory that while heroin abuse and addiction are bad, sharing needles makes it worse: an addict who can get clean needles isn't going to pass HIV or hepatitis on to other people (including people who aren't using heroin), and believing that they're going to die of AIDS or hepatitis makes it less likely that someone will stop using drugs.

Maybe where you are there's an age restriction for syringes, rather than the old prescription-only rules.

Logged

Any advice that requires the use of a time machine may safely be ignored.